UVIC-UCC: WELCOME TO MY UNIVERSITY

"A university should be a place of light, of liberty and of learning". Wise, isn't it? In this blog let me tell you about my host institution where i have studied for 5 months. I would like to share with you the general feeling about it, how the education here goes (maybe it can be useful for some of you to see how education goes in Spain) and just how we study :)

Compared to my university in Mikkeli (more about it here), UVic is quite small. There are several building and each is dedicated to certain department. Since I am in Business Department, most of the times I stay only in one particular building. University itself is very friendly looking, with all needed equipment and friendly administrative staff, whom you can simply talk to if you have any doubts.

When you just arrive here, you will be given your UVic student card, which proves your presence in the university and also (!!!) gives you studentdiscounts in the shops and cafeterias.

See how awesome is too study in Universitat de Vic!

UVic-UCC: Hey, soul sister!

What I can say for sure is that if you appear to be Erasmus student in UVic, you will be absolutely plunged into international environment. There are students from all the corners of the world: Americas, Europe, Asia etc...

HOW DOES THE STUDY PROCESS GO?

Frankly, I feel myself mostly like on vacation here rather than on the studying semester. You need to pick the courses in the beginning of September (this is obvious, Kate, come on) and make sure to enroll for them. It is quite strict with the enrollments here, there is special department which takes care of all student enrollments, therefore they need to take care of you having the course in virtualcampus (Virtual campus is a special student platform with all the courses, grades and other useful info).

SMALL TIPS FROM KATE

Even if you are not enrolled for the course, but still find it interesting, you can easily attend it (this is what I have done actually). Just talk to the teacher in advance, that you are attending it just for your interest and that you are not going to participate in the projects and exams :)

1) Courses themselves are not as difficult as I expected them to be. Everything is just so relaxed. There are deadlines, but even if you miss it, I am not sure you will be severely punished for that. Just talk to the teacher and explain the reasons.

2) Usually they have mid term tests in the middle of the semester (end of October approx). This is how it all goes: September and October you are wondering "why it is so easy to study?" and you have plenty of free time, BUT when mid terms come, here the fun starts and you actually need to start studying.

3) Spanish teachers prefer projects over the exams. Therefore be prepared to get involved in thousands of group works and presentations

4) Concerning my studies, since I am here for autumn semester, my final exams were in January

5) Schedule is quite relaxed (I have 1-2 lectures a day), therefore you have most of the day free

I want to talk about the drawbacks for a second.

1 - Computers are quite old (not all) and it is lacking the needed software. I have experienced the difficulty of managing Adobe Illustrator of 2008, and additionally it was IN SPANISH!

2 - Wifi does not work properly all the time

3 - Some personnel does not speak English at all

4 - Catalan students are nice, but it seems like they are not very engaged in communication with international students (and they do not speak well English either)

5 - Sometimes things are processed too slowly

To conclude my blog today, I would say that anyway if there are any drawbacks, they are totally covered with positives of this university. Perfect place to come for exchange! Cozy, friendly, relaxed! Totally in love with it!

Have a nice day and do not forget to follow me in Instagram and other social media